Jay Blazek Crossley

Recent Posts

Austin’s transit agency, Capital Metro, is engaging in a long term transit planning process that could lead to future light rail lines, bus rapid transit, and enhancements to existing high capacity transit. Project Connect 2.0 follows on the failure of the 2014 bond referendum that could have built Austin’s first light rail line. Many felt … Continue reading "Project Connect: Why Oltorf and Pleasant Valley should jump into Phase II"

I've spent part of every week for the last three years researching, experimenting, and advocating for allowing Texas cities more leeway to design safer neighborhood streets. This legislative session, there are three different safe neighborhood streets bills in the Texas House and Senate -- and a real breakthrough is within reach.

Texas leads the nation in traffic deaths, with an average of 10 lives lost every day -- and five times as many incapacitating injuries. It's possible to prevent these needless deaths, we just have to change the way we design and operate our streets and transportation systems.

Every day, 10 people lose their lives in traffic crashes on Texas streets and highways. Many people think these deaths are just another cost of doing business, but the carnage is preventable. It's time to commit eliminating traffic fatalities.

Austin, through its Vision Zero Program, is setting an example for the rest of Texas to follow in data-based interventions to end traffic deaths. But it also helps to put traffic safety data directly in the hands of the public, so people can see for themselves where action is needed.

Earlier this month, we told you about five bad bills to oppose in the Texas Legislature this session, and now it's time to move on to the good bills worth your support. These five bills could do tremendous good by leading to more complete neighborhoods and safer streets, and ending the crisis of road deaths in Texas.

The bill would create a Vision Zero Task Force that would present a traffic safety plan to the legislature in 2018, with the goal of reducing fatalities in Texas 50 percent by 2029 and to zero by 2050.

Yesterday Texas State Representative Celia Israel called for passage of the Safe Neighborhood Streets Bill (HB 1368). She was joined by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Fort Worth Council Member Ann Zadeh, and Houston Public Works and Engineering Department Deputy Director Jeff Weatherford, as well as Representative Helen Giddings, who said that she would be the first co-sponsor of the bill.

The Houston - Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council has voted to fill its powerful executive committee this year with only white men. The five men on the panel will represent a region that is the most diverse in the nation and home to about 3.4 million women.